In another review of the biggest trends and technologies of 2010, ReadWriteWeb's Richard MacManus presents a recap of developments surrounding HTML5, predicting that the next-version web markup language will go mainstream next year.  

Two forces were primarily responsible for driving the advance of HTML5 this year, MacManus writes. First, HTML5 offers an alternative to Adobe's (NASDAQ: ADBE) Flash technology when it comes to adding interactive functionality, such as animation or video, to webpages. Second, with the burgeoning mobile web, HTML5 answers developers' need for a way to build browser-based websites that resemble native mobile applications.

The company that probably did more than any other to push HTML5 forward in 2010 was Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Google's search business and Adsense, MacManus notes, depend on HTML5. Google spotlighted HTML demos early in the year, and began supporting the language on YouTube, which it owns. Then the search engine giant rolled out an HTML5 iteration of Google Voice on the iPhone (since Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) initially didn't allow a Google Voice app for the iPhone).

Startups got into the HTML5 action as well. Video players, online music players and online video services were among the businesses to use HTML5, MacManus notes. Steve Jobs threw his weight behind HTML5, spending much of the year ranting against Flash. Next year, HTML5 "will probably go mainstream as full browser support becomes available in about the middle of the year," MacManus predicts.

For more:
- see Richard MacManus' post at ReadWriteWeb

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